ECB President Mario Draghi discouraged
expectations that the bank would massively step up buying of government
bonds if European Union leaders agree on moves towards closer fiscal
union at a crucial Brussels summit.

He
said the euro zone's EFSF rescue fund should remain the main tool to
fight bond market contagion, despite the limits of its leverage, and
added that it was illegal for the ECB or national central banks to lend
money to the IMF to buy euro zone bonds, appearing to veto one firefighting option under active consideration.